Physical Contact
by Okydoke
Summary: Jaune Arc, the leader of JNPR, was physically weak. There was no denying it; what else would you expect when he blindly marched his way into the best Hunting school in Vale? But he had something special: it was a gift after he finally got his Aura unlocked. It was the power to throw everything out of control and spiral his world and friends into shenanigans.
1. Chapter 1

It was past midnight in Beacon. The shattered moon emitted gentle rays into the dark hallways and corridors of the academy. It was where every student and professors were asleep - even the mating calls of nocturnal predators and insects were silent in most parts. Yet under all of those conditions, there was someone among the rest that had trouble closing his eyes.

In team JNPR's room there was Pyrrha Nikos, the most reputable student in intellect, wisdom, and especially fighting. Wearing only the padding from under her spartan-like armor, She was sleeping on her bed next to the window with a content smile, hugging her pillow that was her size for extra comfort and warmth. Next to her was Nora Valkyrie, an insane and rambunctious individual but was the only person among the four who can make even the worst days nostalgic. She was laying on her blanket, and her entire body was under her mattress, snoring lightly; how she got into that position was best left alone for truly curious ones. At the very end of the corner near the door was Lie Ren, laying on his oriental decorated bed. Properly known as the quiet enabler for Nora, he was fabricated in mysteries, yet he was always there for his team to the bitter end.

Then there was Jaune Arc, the leader of JNPR, a man above men, a knight in shining armor, and, of course, a ladies man! He's smart, fit, funny, and everything that an average Joe lacked...

At least that's what he was trying to do to convince himself. He breathed in deep, then he exhaled slowly. He wanted to dream just as much as anyone, but his consciousness forced him to settle with a critical decision: should he confess to Ozpin about his forged transcript, or should he keep it all in and progressively kill himself from the intense sparring and Grimm.

Jaune was still surprised about not only being accepted into Beacon but being able to survive the initiation. He shivered at the thought of being nearly impaled by Pyrrha's spear and the Deathstalker's stinger. But he believed that he still holds merit. After all, he knew that strategies and planning was very much needed in groups and teamwork, and he had those talents. So why couldn't he think past his doubts?

Ever since initiation, Jaune couldn't help but question his skills as a leader. He was launched from a platform, screaming and praying on the way down, led his partner to a Deathstalker cave, again, screaming on his way out, and finally having his back almost snapped in two from Weiss' surprisingly heavy tush.

" _It was so soft though,"_ his mind wandered back to the the incident. He shook out his dirty thoughts, his face heated up a bit. There was no time to even be a teenager, despite his hormones. He turned his head towards Pyrrha, and he gazed at her pleased face.

"What should I do," he whispered. He pleaded for answers, even if they're opinionated.

He got no response from his partner, only the mumbling of sloths and sweets from Nora's corner. Again, he inhaled deeply. Did he really want this life? _Of course I do, what else could I want?_ Another question came soon after. Did he deserve to be here with these amazing hunters and huntresses?

" _No, I don't,_ " he concluded in his head. Even if he could improve, it would be a long while for him to even match his peer's league. His lack of physical power would cripple him and slow down others who circle around him. He couldn't take this anymore. _It was now or never._ Immediately, he got out of his bed, swiftly disrobed his onesies, dressed into his casual clothing, and tiptoed his way out of there.

Once he was gone, Pyrrha opened one of her eyes, looking as the bed which was absent of the lovable Blondie.

"...Jaune," she whispered around, hoping that he didn't go too far off without her consent. What worried her more than his disappearance was what he would do after that.

 _What should I do?_ She tried to decipher what he meant, but there was not enough content in his question. Frightened but interested, she wanted to know what he would do at this time, even if it results in losing his trust. Before Ren and Nora noticed any noise, she grabbed a tank top and shorts, then walked out of the dorm under a few seconds.

Jaune jogged his way to the professor's sleeping quarters, stopping to every door he passes to check the if any of them had the Headmaster's name. Soon after that, he stopped at a door near the end of the of the hall. It was framed with gold which matches the appearance of wood grain. Right on the center was a sign printed _Professor Ozpin_. Under the name was a warning: _Any disturbances between 12 and 8 am will result in either detention, suspension, or expulsion. Teachers are no exception._

This scared the living Aura out of him, but he slapped himself. He was about to confess, so what harm could there be in this, knowing that he would finally be out of everyone's way? His hand made a fist. He was about to knock on the door if it wasn't for the a hand tightening his shoulder.

"Gaa-mpphh!" he shrieked halfway, but another hand covered his mouth. He attempted to thrash out of this death hold, only to drain out his stamina.

"Shhhhh. Jaune, please calm down," behind him was the red hair spartan. After his breathing was steady, she released her iron grip. Massaging his his jaw, he sighed in relief. For a second there, he was sure that the assailant was Glynda or some hall monitor. He grimaced when he thought about her riding crop whipping at his flesh should he ever transgress in front of her.

"Pyrrha, why are you here and up so late?"

"That's my line," she retorted.

Jaune flinched, realizing the sudden predicament. Should he tell her? _She doesn't have to know._ He simply wanted to be a small memory in Beacon.

"Okay, you got me there, but you followed me. Why?" He changed the subject, trying to gain the upper hand in the chat. Like a cycle, Pyrrha opened her mouth, only to shut it to think of a better excuse, then opening her mouth once more, her index finger pointing upward as if she got it. This was getting him nowhere. This went on for a while, until he waited long enough.

"I'm leaving Beacon." Jaune told her through his gritted teeth.

"You mean you're 'temporarily' leaving Beacon, right?" she bit her lower lip.

"No, I'm leaving Beacon, and I will not come ba-"

"Stop," she stretched her arm towards him. She figured that he would go down this road, but even she could see a lot of potential in him.

"You're not leaving because you belong her-"

"No, I don't!" he exclaimed. Realizing he just shouted out in a hallway full of trained hunters, he slapped his cheeks until they turned scarlet. He looked at her eyes, noticing the the worry that gleamed off from it.

"D-did you really hear what I said when we were in the dorm?"

She nodded in confirmation. "You said 'What should I do?' Yes, I heard it, but I thought you were saying that in your sleep. I didn't expect you to actually be referring to me. But don't fret over it. I'm here with open ears, or arms if you prefer," she mentally whacked at herself. _I hope he didn't hear that last bit._

Luckily for her, he was lost in his personal dilemma.

"*sighs* Then why should I be here? What should I do, other than giving strategies, and give the ladies a good time?" he joked. Pyrrha chuckled.

Without a second thought she shared him her wisdom. "I can teach you how to fight, how to better yourself. You can learn quickly too - it's rare for anyone to think on the spot when they're in a dire situation. Not only that, your Aura is immense," she emphasized by spreading her arms apart, as if she's measuring it. "It's enough for us to spar against each other for hours, maybe even days! You can't just give up because you're not strong enough. You can only be better from now on." she took a step towards him.

"That will take too long! You can't dedicate so much for me," he sighed with his eyes closed, his head hanging. It felt like forever when she could say anything else.

"Jaune," closing the distance between them, she cupped her hands on his cheeks, pulled his head to meet her at eye level. This abrupt change from a serious conversation to having this close intimacy made him blushed a deeper shade of red than before. He looked down. _Oh Oum, why did it have to be a tank top?_

"You've proven yourself to be just as capable as anyone. It's not just that; along with myself, everyone you've met will help you. You don't only have to be under my wing, you know," she gave her most determine smile her lips could muster.

"You are my partner, my leader, and most importantly, my friend. So there's no way in hell I would abandon you now," she smiled brightly, causing his mind to race a hundreds miles around his skull. Now that he thought about it, it was very rare for her to use profanity. _She's serious._ He was about to stutter something either stupid or inappropriate, but something happened at that very moment. Something that changed Jaune entirely.

His stomach began to burn up; his heart was pumping at an alarming rate - this adrenaline somehow got into his system. Unconsciously, his Aura began to spread throughout his body. And almost instantly, the glowing Aura from Jaune's cheeks flowed through Pyrrha's hands. Then, like a jolt, Pyrrha felt her heart speeding up as well, but there were other symptoms. Blood rushed to her head, crept onto her face, and her lungs were heavy, as though they were about to collapse from taking in anymore air. Like a river, she sweated profusely.

 _What is this feeling?_ She couldn't even think straight, as she glanced at Jaune, only to look away sheepishly.

"Hah, w-what?" she panted. She seldom felt like this. Was she sick, or was it... she couldn't comprehend the sudden heat and _p-p-p-p-pleasure_ that started to envelope her entire body. This was weird, but how she really felt is vulnerable, then she feared that vulnerability. She was still holding onto his face.

"Uh, Pyrrha, are you okayyYYYYAAAAHHHH!" she grabbed his wrist, shifted behind him, then hurled his poor soul to the very door that welcomed only Ozpin. Like a rag doll being tossed around, he somersaulted and crashed into the room. Smoke, dust, and other debris invaded the air from the torn door, and inside the Headmaster's room was nothing but darkness. She instantly got over her sudden high and saw her very work.

"Oh my Oum! Jaune! I'm so sorry!" her face was still fresh with red and sweat. She was about to come over to check his health, but she felt a powerful pull from nowhere. It was so powerful, it lifted her several feet from the ground. There was only one person in this academy that could do this. She audibly gulped. Then her body turned to meet the very demon.

"I hope you can explain this mess, miss Nikos because this will be detrimental to your school life..." Glynda Goodwitch hissed out her fury. She was wearing a black and purple night gown; portions of the design showed some daring transparency. It accentuated her strict personality well.

"Mrs. Goodwitch," she kept her voice steady. "I apologize for waking you up, but right now there is a student who just so happens to have entered mister Ozpin's room."

Goodwitch's expression was not that of anger or disappointment. It was showing dread. She went wide-eyed, her mouth was slack jawed. Under this tension, Pyrrha gravitated back the Remnant.

Glynda leaned next to her ear.

"Miss Nikos," Glynda sternly whispered to her. "Please side step to your left behind the column." Without questioning, she did as she was told. The moment she did, a violent wind pushed through Ozpin's entry like a small hurricane. The wind was so fast that it made a sharp siren throughout the entire building. Books, chairs, furniture, and many other household items raced past them, only to land on the opposite end of the wall. The very last one to fly out was a wailing Arc. Because of her incredible reflexes, Pyrrha caught him by the leg.

"Don't, Miss Nikos!" Glynda tried to warn her, but it was too late. The screeching gale blasted both of them right off towards the exit.

"Aaahhhhhhh!" Jaune cried out as they were closing in on the pile of commodity.

Pyrrha, kind of predicting this would happen, landed her feet perfectly against the the wall, cushioning what could have been a fatal outcome. She wished she could say the same for her Blondie; after taking a ride like that, the idea of almost dying mentally hammered him unconscious. The wind died down, and all of Beacon was lit with brightness. What caught her off guard was the alarm sounded off in the building.

" _Code red! This is code red! Calling all teachers and fourth year students immediately!"_ Although it was a computerized voice, it boomed of extreme seriousness.

 _WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!WhatdoIdo?!_ Whatever lied behind that dark chamber may as well be a fading memory to her as she darted past the crowding halls, ignoring the rushing fourth years with loaded weapons.

"Who woke him up?! Of all people?!" the shouting came from none other than Peter Port. The stout man held his battleaxe up high.

"This is not a drill everyone! Please line up in a uniform fashion! My Oum, this hasn't happened in years!" the order came from Bartholomew Oobleck, drinking what must be coffee from his weapon.

Ignoring all of the commotion, she managed to drag herself and Jaune out of harm's way and back to her peaceful dorm. _This could not get any worse._ She gulped and opened her way in, only to meet the curious eyes of both Ren and Nora.

"Care to tell us what we're hearing right now?" Ren yawned, pointing out of the window where the storm of stomping and shouting was coming.

"Yeah! I can't believe I woke up at the best part of my dream!" Nora pouted.

"Did it have to do with pancakes and sloths?" Ren asked.

"Are you crazy? It had to do with sloths then pancakes in that order! Dreaming of pancakes first would have killed the mood!" The room was silent once again after hearing her ridiculous dream.

"Aside from that, why is Jaune around your arms... and unconscious?" Ren closely examined Jaune.

Her face was flushed again. She couldn't just tell them that she, out of everyone, woke up what could be the disaster of this world. Imagine the lecturing and nonstop inquiries from them. _What would be a good excuse?_

"Um, actually, well..." she coughed to clear her throat. "I was sparring with Jaune, and I got a little of out hand. At the last second, I bashed his face with my shield. Trust me, it wasn't pretty." To "prove" it, she viewed Jaune's face. There was a swollen bruise right on his forehead; that was probably from hitting face first when he slammed himself against Ozpin's door. Ren examined the injury, shaking his head afterwards.

"Sparring?"

"Yep!"

"At this time of hour?"

"Right!"

"Even though your weapons are laying next to your bed?" he pointed at Pyrrha's treasured Milo and Akouo at the corner.

"Uh, I brought a spare?" her smile went crooked.

"... Sorry, but you have to be the worst liar I've-"

"Holy wow!" Nora interrupted him. "Our glorious leader looks like a unicorn!" she laughed at the bruise. Apparently, the center of the pump formed a cone like shape. It looked like a purple horn.

"Pffffftt!" Nora tried to keep what's left in her lungs.

"Haaaaaa..." Ren sighed, his eyelids became heavier. "Look, I don't care if the world is going to explode and kill us all, but if there's one thing I value, other than Nora (Nora awes), it's a well preserved sleep. So Pyrrha," he focused on her eyes. "Why don't we all just go back to bed, and I'll make us some breakfast in the morning."

"That's an excellent suggestion." she agreed, knowing how Ren can be a little... unstable if he doesn't get his nap.

"Alright then, good night everyone." Ren dropped his deadpanned facade and laid on his mattress. Although Nora wanted to find out what was transpiring outside, she decided to sleep on it.

After the two went back to sleep, Pyrrha gently laid Jaune on his bed, where he should have been tonight. After tucking the blanket over the resting warrior, Pyrrha couldn't help but think back at the time she had that foreign sensation when her hands made contact with his skin. She shuddered. It was as if she submitted her will so easily to his touches. It was exciting in a way, and at the same time it was disturbing. Could this be more than a simple crush? _Maybe, maybe not._ Instinctively, she wanted to caress his face once more, but she reeled back and rattled her head. _It must be from the exhaustion._ Convinced that her fatigued is taking its toll on her, she went back to her bed, hugging her warm, human sized pillow.

 **Back At Headmaster's Place**

All of the professors and fourth year students showed up at last, with Glynda Goodwitch up front and center. Coming up to her was Port, but his face didn't show the jolly expression he used to have in his class. This time, he was frowning, and Oobleck was no different when he strolled behind him.

"Ah, miss Goodwitch, what is the situation?" Glynda didn't even turn her head to respond.

"The situation's not terrible, but just in case, I want everyone with the best defense formation to come forward."

Nodding, Port waved gestures to the swarming hunters. Around 4 teams jumped in front - many of them lined up their shields and wore thick plated armor. Behind them were hunters with modded sniper rifles, all sights were on the silhouette's head in the distance. They were as ready as they'll ever be.

At least a hundred students filled the floor. Each and everyone of them practiced for several thousand hours just to take down an army of Grimm, yet they felt this chill running through their spine when they saw the shadow drag his feet out of his territory. It was one person, but they knew otherwise, noticing the the black Aura leaking through. As it made past the armed troops, the Aura acted as a stifling smog and dimmed the beams of the light bulbs. As the figure in the darkness took each step, every hunter's aim gradually became rigid. This was their first time fighting a real hunter. Scratch that, this was their very first to ever fight the best hunter in his time. Their hunting careers were at stake.

Eventually, the silhouette came to a crawling motion; he had finally appeared outside. Surely enough, the lights on the ceiling shined on the Headmaster. And oddly enough, the fear which once crawled into their skin froze. They all tilted their head in confusion. It was just Ozpin in his striped pajamas with his head hanging, and his arms swinging like a pendulum. He mumbled something, but his face never left the ground. Everyone had the same question. What was wrong with him?

"If you're all still wondering, Professor Ozpin is sleep walking." Port announced it to them all. Like some cartoon show, all of the hunters and huntresses tripped from the fact that their greatest foe was someone who even wasn't aware of what's going on.

The image of their Headmaster sleep walking was almost comical. Some of them stared at this in awe, ignorant of the prior menacing appearance. Although it was uplifting that he didn't emit the dark presence when he was in the dark, Glynda and her colleagues did not lessen their glares.

"Uhhh, Ms. Goodwitch," one of the bulkiest armored hunters spoke out. "What exactly are we going up against here? He doesn't look like a threat."

"That's what you think," she replied. "You haven't experience true pain or horror, so it's understandable that you can't fathom the danger you're in."

"Hey, I've been through plenty. For Monty's sake, I've been inside a Nevermore. Compared to bathing in stomach acids, this is practically child's play!" he chuckled, pointing at Ozpin's forming snot bubble. Glynda, having enough problems as it is, didn't have the energy to explain the significance of the comatose man.

"If that's how you're going to behave, why don't you try to apprehend him yourself?"

"Are you mad Glynda?! This is not a suicide mission!" Port interjected.

"Hush, if he chooses to die, then let him."

"Truly you are a demon." He folded his arms in disappointment.

The pompous fighter scratches his chin in contemplation. "Yeah, sure. Only if you keep that getup for the rest of the semester," he answered with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" she raised one of her eyebrows

Oobleck, who was surprisingly quiet during this time, finally expressed his displeasure: "You're dressed indecently Glynda! I mean look at yourself! It's a miracle the men aren't drowning in their own drool!"

As soon as he said that, he covered her night gown with his jacket. He expected at least a "thank you", but instead, he got whipped in the face.

"Gah! Hit me anywhere except the spectacles!" Oobleck pleaded as he inspects his crack glasses.

"Shut up," she fumed, her face reddened. She almost forgot that she was displaying herself in front her veteran students. She fixed her glare on the ignorant smart mouth.

"You, pervert, hurry up and get over there!" she ordered harshly through her teeth.

"Okay, okay. Whelp, wish me luck!" the lone soldier got up and walked to the slumbering beast, he sheathed his great sword. All at once, people cheer him on, praising his courage. As he got closer to him, his confidence grew even more. To show off or toy with his superiors, he brought out his scroll as he was literally inches away from Ozpin.

"Hey Headmaster, wanna you take a photo with me?"

Ozpin mumbled something, but the man in armor accepted it as "yes." As he was beside the sleep walker, he raised the scroll, the image fixed on himself and Ozpin.

Port tapped his foot rapidly on the tile floor. "This won't end well."

"Hush, this is the best part," Glynda took out her own scroll, recording the will be miserable playboy.

Other than the teachers, the fourth years watched and giggled about the scenario. _Fighting Ozpin while he's asleep? What a joke!_ They all thought in sync.

"Say hello to your new profile picture!" the bold student laughed as he was about to take the picture. What no one other than teachers recognize was the ever expanding Aura around him. Right before the flash from the scroll, Ozpin raised one of hands, making the black Aura that was around the halls to gyrate. The circling Aura picked up heavy winds. Soon, the Aura accelerated. Then with just a lift from his index finger, the sharp winds thrust at the boy next to him. In less than a second, the scroll was sliced into oblivion, and the unfortunate person who held the scroll was shoulders deep into the ceiling – the body limped in the air.

The laughing, chuckling, giggling, and all of the guffaws were killed instantly. No one saw that coming, but the smirk from the demon woman told otherwise.

"I hope you're happy Glynda," Port sighed, shaking his head in shame.

"Very," she closed the scroll. "Now, Everyone! Take aim and hold!" she raised her crop, signaling her command. They did as they were told. Had they done the opposite, they would most likely end up like the carcass above the Headmaster.

The screeching hurricane danced in front of Ozpin, waiting for his hand signals. " _There's not enough time."_ Glynda needed to act fast. Without much to plan, she can only slow down the winds and hopefully drain his Aura. This was not a good position; Ozpin raised not one, but two fingers. In great haste, the cyclone accelerated more, doubling in size. _Oh shi-!_ Glynda didn't give them the time to even pray as she yelled out probably her very last words.

"FIRE AWAY!"


	2. Chapter 2

It was morning in Beacon – a complete contrast to the eventful night of gunfire, screaming and explosions. The winds lightly blew past the facilities, and the sky was clear of clouds. One would say that it must be a joyous morning. It almost made everyone forget the chaotic incident just several hours ago. Surely there should be no dire possibilities for even the most unfortunate of hunters. No, no, no, then there would be no story. The very cause and trouble makers are in the dorm of JNPR, harboring four hunters. Within it, the air was stifling from the intense aroma of melted butter blended with thick syrup.

"So let me condense what you've explained," Ren squinted his eyes as he started distributing plates of fresh pancakes to everyone on the table-excluding Jaune who was still resting from last night's uproar. Ren gave the most towering breakfast, measuring at least 3 feet, to Nora.

"Jaune stayed awake and left, then you followed him to see what was wrong. That much was clear." Pyrrha nodded while she looked at her share of flat cakes. As much as she wanted to stuff herself to rid the feeling of being interrogated by her very teammate, her guilt weighed more than her appetite. Nora on the other hand ate hers with blinding speed. It was as if she inhaled each pan cake one by one; the black hole that was the pit of her stomach demanded more. With no arguments, Pyrrha pushed her share to Nora.

"Thanks!" Nora appreciated the kind gesture, chewing nonstop.

"Oh, there's no need to be grateful," she assured her and waved the thanks off. "There had to be some reason for you to be so... active!" Her brow twitched when the psychotic ginger downed a bottle of thick sap.

"Back to topic," Ren coughed. "Apparently he was trying to talk to Ozpin about something, but you stopped him by..." he motioned his hand in hope that Pyrhha completes the sentence.

"By assaulting him... and causing a quarter of Beacon demolished... At least Glynda was there to fix it..." she muttered. Truth was she tried to convince him to reconsider his decision, but she didn't mention the details. She never expected herself to actually manhandle him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that it was reckless of her to do something like hurting Jaune of all people. It was mentally numbing already, but to add the Headmaster into this mess passed beyond her expectations. If only she could persuade Ren that there was no need to know about it. She studied his impassive face. He closed his eyes – it seemed that had given up the idea of going further into the situation, but she knew better. The calm interrogator exhaled after his brief contemplation.

"Back to square one I suppose." He crossed his arms in disappointment. Whether it's to her or himself, she couldn't read his mind.

"What ever do you mean?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Please stop denying it. There's obviously more to the story than that," he snapped his fingers as an idea popped in. "Is it blackmail material?"

"No!" She yanked her ponytail to keep herself from headbutting the table. "I've already said everything!"

"Now, now - you know better." Like a child getting a strict lecture, Pyrrha shrank in her seat, feeling very much defeated.

If there was anyone who can smell even the faintest of lies, Ren may as well be a bloodhound with a lying detector.

"Guess I'm not cut out for lying." Her persistence was obvious to Ren. Although she's a terrible liar, he went with it.

"It's the effort that counts, but I can say you're getting there," he smiled in satisfaction. But there nothing that could get her talking without stuttering and biting her tongue; it was a frustrating process. Pyrrha played with her fingers to distract herself and unintentionally raised the tension in the air. Thankfully for her, Ren initiated once more when both of them couldn't handle the intense gaze from Nora - all wide eyed like she was watching drama unfold. Her cheeks stretched from the sugary goodness.

"We're a team, so it's natural for me to worry about him. You're worried too, yet you're hiding something. So please, instead of telling us why you did what you did, even though that's what vexes me the most, tell us why he was blind enough to walk out in the night?" She couldn't just tell them, no matter how much they stare at her with anticipation. What if they go to extreme lengths to stop him? She certainly wouldn't want to let the hammer wielding tanker do anything beyond reason. Then again, that's something done on a daily basis.

"Out with it," his tranquil yet powerful voice snapped her back to reality, "Why did he storm out?"

"Nyeah! Ahn wih 'e blot!" Nora pitched in and slammed her fists on the splintered table; its creaking legs nearly collapsed from her inhuman strength. Her pouch-like cheeks bulged. Furrowing her brow, she caught two dull pairs of ember and magenta eyes on her. She swallowed and repeated her previous shout, "Yeah! On with the plot!"

"Absolutely not! And don't pick a side!" Pyrrha pleaded. "That's not fair!"

"No more secrets! Secrets are only cool when they're revealed!"

"Then they wouldn't be secrets, Nora," the magenta streak-haired man defended.

"Psh! Well duh, that's because those are stupid secrets! Do I need to give you a dictionary?"

"My vocabulary is fine. I just think you've had your fill for one morning."

"Make me – I dare you, blasphemer!" She back flipped on her chair with determined balance, her dual forks pinpointed between Ren's eyes.

"I prefer not," he raised both hands in defeat. Angering the sugar addict was the least of his concerns.

"He wanted to drop out of the the academy!" Pyrrha exhaled and leaned on the already unstable table. She broke under pressure, yet it wasn't from them. Rather, she really couldn't find any other excuse for herself other than that Jaune was possible sleepwalking. And they were right, why would she hide it? Just for some personal comfort? _Stupid selfish idiot,_ she disparaged herself. Ren, who was usually the calm one, slipped his most expressed surprise.

"I'm surprised," he shrugged casually while dodging the playful stabs from his fork wielding companion.

"Ahm mnot! (I'm not!)" Nora followed through. Her grabby paws swiped Ren's pancakes when they were focused on the Spartan's expected reaction.

"Wha-why are you not surprised about this?!" For them to not even show the slightest hint of empathy meant that they are completely prepared for this. _Unbelievable!_ "Jaune could have left! We would be assigned to some random person as our new leader! He's my - our friend!" She exclaimed in one breath, crossing the border of hysteria. _Gah! I don't want to lose him!_

Other than her family, Jaune was the first to treat her as a person rather than profit or some celebrity. A suppressed memory of flashing cameras and walls of microphones influenced her adolescence. At least she wasn't pressured from him unlike her peers and everyone else in Mistral. His charming ignorance was a whiff of fresh air from all of the other annoying acts of praises and ass-kissing from even the most impressive fighters in the kingdom. The way he puts himself in front of others, his honesty, and his simple-mindedness attracted her. If it weren't for his pick up one-liners, he could also make her giggle every so often.

"Or he could have been told off from the staff in that area." Ren ran through multiple scenarios that would have happened had Pyrrha not interfered. "Or even if he did succeed in confronting the Headmaster, surely he would tell us in the morning, or, and this is what's most likely going to happen no matter obstacle, he could have realized that it was just the spur of the moment and come right back here. There are many paths he would've taken, but most of them would not be too terrible," he clicked his tongue in slight irritation. "If only he didn't take action at night." The redhead swore she heard faint curses across the table.

She saw where he's going with, but it still didn't sit right with her. Even if it wasn't for her to pry on, it would be rude to leave Jaune to face things alone. A knocking on hard wood came from someone in the bedroom. "Knock knock," the intruder groaned, but he tried to play it cool. It was someone they already expected. Taking small strides, their very leader – surprisingly in uniform like the his friends - woke up in a middle of something he wished he didn't have.

"Sooo I heard you guys were talking about me." Jaune walked towards them and sat next to his fidgety partner. "I guess word got out, right?" Ren shook his head.

"If only I knew what that word was. But it's good to see you've recovered. Here, help to yourself."

"Too late!" And too late is was, for each plate was spotless from any residue whatsoever. "Another!" Nora smashed the collected ceramics on the table, startling both Jaune and Pyrrha to jump from their seats. Before the pieces could reach to the ground, every shards were poured into a close by trash bin. "In a minute. I promise you," Ren wiped sweat from his brow, his hand occupied a brush.

"Okey dokey, but first," she chirped before commenting, "Jaune! Tell us your secret!" She crouched on the table and slammed her hands onto his chest – she never understood personal space. Being a refined gentleman, he flailed and dropped on his back, taking the chair on his ass with him.

"Okay, okay! Before or after this?" He pointed at the sore swelling on his forehead, his back still laid on the floor.

"Both!" she jumped in excitement, only to trip and snapped all of the table's leg. It crashed on the tiles with a loud thud, yet Nora payed little attention it to. On the wooden top, she crisscrossed her legs and listened intently. _'Thank Oum all of this is school property,'_ everyone thought in unison.

"Yes, maybe you can enlighten me." Ren smiled. "Tell us why you were tussled by _you-know-who_." The suspect wanted to object, but she knew she'd be ignored.

Drawing a blank, the blonde honestly had no clue why she did that. Did he upset her? Did he make an unpleasant face? _What the hell did I do to deserve that? Did I subconsciously copped a feel?...That's a possibility._ The only thing he did was stand there in dumbstruck.

"Actually, that's what I want to know too," Jaune turned his attention to the champion. "I don't know what I did, but if I did something to you, anything to you at all, I believe I deserve it." His words were so sincere, it felt as if they pierced her already troubled heart. It only added the guilt in her conscious.

"I am so sorry, Jaune." she paused for a second. "I can't tell you." She couldn't tell him her ever growing infatuation of him which led them to this. She couldn't just tell him how he made her body limp and weak from his touch, and how he captivated her from just his gaze. And if she did tell him, she sure as hell didn't want to find out how he'll react. She couldn't describe the feeling as well she hoped she could, but one was for sure, it made her shudder in fear. With a puppy-dog face, Jaune tried to become one with the floor to hide it. "But it's not your fault," she attempted to counsel him.

"So you're to blame then," Ren pointed at her general direction, a brush on one hand and a dustpan on the other.

"It's no one's fault!" Her face matched her hair in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"If you really cared, you wouldn't dodge my questions." He shook his shook in disapproval . Noticing Jaune getting up, he changed his question before feeling a burning sensation, as if lasers were installed on Pyrrha's optics. "So Jaune, what happened after that?"

"Nothing happened after that," Pyrrha answered for him.

"Seriously," Ren countered, "you're only stalling the inevitable. Jaune?"

"Give me a few minutes to recollect myself." Se sat back on hid seat, rubbing his sore forehead.

When he thought about, he just couldn't remember significant details. It was almost as if his subconsciousness was suppressing some sort of trauma, but his curiosity made him pry harder. Jaune leaned his chin against his palm, contemplating deeply on what screwed up that night.

The crashing, falling, and searing pain was the very first step - surely that killed several thousand brain cells - but even with very little blood in his head, what caught his attention was how vibrant and highly decorated the room was. Every corner, reflecting little color from the moon's light, had some well-crafted furniture and expansive shelves which was stacked with neatly ordered encyclopedias; it crowded the walls and told how intelligent Ozpin really was. Above him was a bell-shaped chandelier and if cut off from the supporting ceiling, the bulbs and crystals would shred his very being. And of course, in the center of it all, there was a king sized round bed, heavily stacked with thick and springy mattresses, where the Headmaster slept, and Jaune landed directly next to him. The young warrior sharply inhaled. Much to his relief, Ozpin was a heavy sleeper, even after hearing his door burst in from a human cannon ball. Even if he didn't wake the man, it triggered something he'd desperately wished he hadn't.

The bed squeaked as Ozpin's silhouette rose up from his slumber. It was so quick and unexpected, Jaune scrambled off the mattress. That wasn't what shivered his spine the most when he thought Ozpin was awake; it was the brief visible white teeth revealed from his murderous grin. Before he knew what he did after that, he was struck so hard by an invisible force that he flew straight back out of there. He could never forget the blackness that invaded the dim chambers when his spinning head turned back to the exit.

"Hello," an impatient voice began. "Remnant to Jaune! Are you in there?" Nora waved back and forth frantically in search for a conscious reply.

"Lesson learned: never wake a sleeping lion," he warned with a shudder. "You'll regret it." As they were about to question what that metaphor even meant, a distinct voice interrupted them.

"Go!Go!Go! To class!" A loud yet squeaky order resonated to the hallways and through the cracks in the door frames followed by three other loud footsteps.

"Class?... It's almost 9 and they have less than 5 minutes to get there!" Jaune leaped from his chair and dashed out before anyone could respond, following trails of rose petals from Ruby.

Perhaps it was the feeling of desperation and ignorance, but one thing was for sure: his heels kicked nothing but air. No matter how hard or fast his steps were, they never met the ground. _The hell?_ His head kicked into high gear, and his entire body spun a 180. His startled eyes met a very stern glare behind glass frames, followed by a loud strike of her crop on her palm.

"How lucky of me to stumble upon you of all students, Mr. Arc," Glynda mused at her catch with a slight smirk, but she cemented her poker face in order to frighten the boy. Something told him that she didn't just "stumbled" upon him. Rather she was stationed next to their door, waiting to pounce at him; she probably overheard their conversation as well. She held her leather tool high above her head level, which in turn raised him until he touched the ceiling. "Apologies, you will have to excuse yourself and come with me. You will comply and submit to my orders." Jaune could only nod timidly; he doubt escape was an option.

She turned her attention to the three onlookers. "I'm taking him with me. Any objections?" She didn't give them the chance to even part their lips as she gracefully walked past them with a straight back facing the three clinging on their door, knowing that they never had a say in this in the first place.

"I pray for your survival," Ren said with a zen expression.

"I second that prayer," Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

"If you're gone for good, can I have your bed?"

"Nora!" The two chimed in. It's not that she wasn't sympathetic or cared about the unfortunate friend, but imagine the cool mattress fortress she could make.

"Tee hee," she played innocent and trod away from her lecturers, leaving Ren and Pyrrha to access their previous situation in the room, watching their leader cross his heart and shed tears of his departure.

"You're going to have to throw me a bone sooner or later," Ren waved the topic and held the door open, "so I won't bother with the details."

"I swear I'll confess; however, today's not that day," the red head smiled as she looked at their destination to class. "Now let's go! We don't want to miss Peter's lecture."

"You're almost as motivating as you are unconvincing."

From his dorm to the clock tower, his time together with Glynda was dead silent, excluding his classmate who murmur as they pass by the disciplined dictator and floating prisoner. After reaching to an elevator, Jaune fear subsided, leaving him to only contemplate as time was very limited.

"Hey, uh, Glynda, can you tell me where we're going?"

"First of all, it's Ms. Goodwitch, and I expect you to address me as such," She made her point as she plopped him down on his back. Ignoring the poor guy's groaning, she proceeded explaining her laws. "Second, we'll be approaching Professor Ozpin's office. And thirdly, you are to keep silent until I say otherwise. Saying anything now will only be used against you." As they escalate to their destination, she turns to him and Jaune felt pressure on his shoulders. "Do I make myself clear?"

As an empowering Aura inevitably leaked out of Glynda, he saluted and nodded vigorously. For a carefree blonde, it really looked silly. Nonetheless, it put him at ease as she in turn nodded approvingly.

When they finally reached to the very last floor, the lift opened, and across the spacious room of enormous grinding gears was Ozpin, drinking his special brew with a straw... with a loopy straw.

Never in his life did he ever wanted to run out of there so desperately, to claw through the floor and never admit his irrational thinking, but his better judgment held his temptation from doing that. Glynda was the first to move - the sounds of her heels echoed throughout the walls. Then he felt an invisible tug in his tie, gagging him in the process. Realizing it was her semblance wringing the life out of him, he tripped forward with the noose – I mean tie . It was best to go with the flow, yet his feet skid through the transparent floor as he was almost out of air. When Ms. Goodwitch ushered Jaune out of the elevator and removed her pseudo tugging, she stood next to the headmaster with her head high high and her arms tucked. Jaune was still standing; honestly he felt more secure if he was closer to an exit. However, the Headmaster didn't show signs of anger, relief, sadness, or any emotion that would indicate what his next course of action would be.

"You may speak." Glynda said abruptly, pointing at him. "Don't take this for granted." Her warning held venom - its harshness was genuine. Still on his feet, Jaune could only try to lighten the mood.

"So," Jaune scratched the back of head and looked down, "did you have a nice nap?"

As if he wasn't angering her more than before, Glynda's glare showed how much Ozpin's assistant did not take his words lightly. "Mr. Arc! Are you testing me?" A woman full of pride and discipline, she wouldn't hesitate to grind Jaune's bones to dust, but he didn't know better – rather he can't. If she wanted, she could level this floor by just from popping a blood vessel.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I was just asking a simple question!"

"It's alright, Glynda," Ozpin interrupted the fuming witch, "I could use the humor," Ozpin chuckled at Jaune's poor choice of words. As the calm man redirected her ever growing blood lust, Jaune noticed that each of Ozpin's digits had a splint. There's no need to guess why this happened.

"To be honest, it was wonderful. I slept like a baby - completely out of it!" He beamed in response, but Jaune couldn't tell if he was being honest or sarcastic. "I didn't even wake up when Glynda here crippled my hands." Either way, his gentle optimism was almost sickeningly contagious. "Although, I will say that its effects were the very opposite to everyone else." _And then came the obvious._

"As if that wasn't apparent enough." Glynda scoffed at Ozpin's placidity. "If you can laugh at Professor Ozpin's condition, surely you can conjure some jokes about your senior's near death experience."

 _Oh, right, there was that_. "I'm not laughing. In my defense, I bet very few of them died - 10 people, max."

" _Near death experience,_ Jaune," Glynda pinched her nose, irritated by his lack of sense. " _Try_ none," Glynda sighed, "They were all quite fortunate. Several _victims_ need stitching and no fractured bones pierced their lungs, but many will require therapy. And if it weren't for me, the place would've collapsed into rubble."

"Then how are you so... not hurt?"

"Meat shields," she said with confidence, "you always need meat shields. Mr. Bartholomew volunteered without arguing." Suddenly, all he could imagine was the constant noise of hasty screaming and pounded flesh from the green hair Speedy Gonzales, along with a maniacal cackle of a certain woman.

"Thank you Ms. Goodwitch, you were very successful in seizing my drinking hand." Ozpin responded and gently shook his hands. It wasn't just his drinking hand, but even his wrists were locked with thick casts, rendering his joints immobile. "But enough about me. We're here to talk about you."

 _Here it comes._ "What's there to talk about?"

"I believe you know what," Ozpin grinned, "so you don't be surprised about how we know about your forged transcripts."

Curtained by a blank face, the boy couldn't believe what he just heard. "Wait, wait, wait...What was that? I believe my ears are deceiving me."

"You're a cheater, endangering the lives of everyone around you," Glynda answered. Both of them waited for Jaune's response.

"But if you knew all along, then why didn't you do something about it?"

Ozpin took a long sip of his fresh concoction – savoring the taste. "At first it was for amusement," he chuckled, "we haven't met risky people like you for years."

"For amusement..." Jaune droned, "you're kidding me. Please don't tell me your second reason is your previous statement." Wiggling his broken index finger, Ozpin snatched a box full of colored folders which stems out names of hundred of students.

He slid Jaune's supposed folder across the table until it paused at the center of the desk. Then his skimmed through several pages to show what appeared to be Jaune's transcripts, all neatly ordered and filled out with defining words, describing his false identity.

"If I kid, you'd be out of breath by now. Second, I think you don't value yourself as much as you think you should, which was the why you came to me last night. Well, try to anyways. So let me enlighten you."

"Everything you've added in your paper met our minimum standards, but you didn't put anything remarkable." Minimum standards... the two words swirled around Jaune's brain. "Nothing to show what you've done that could put you on top; it was quite odd that you've had no achievements to don for yourself. Then again, you probably thought that would have caught you, forgetting that this place is for the very best for a reason."

The blonde fraud remain motionless. "You just had enough for us to believe we'll set you aside for later. Well, that's what you believed for us to behave as, right? After what transpired during your initiation?" The question flew past Jaune as he tried to reevaluate his circumstance. What the hell could he excuse himself with?

"We can feign ignorance, but we are always aware of what happens in this academy and even what happens outside of this kingdom. Which is why you must not be shocked to be even stand here in front of us." He leaned against the transparent desk. "Why do you think I left you alone since the event in Emerald Forest?"

"I-I thought you would focus on other matters than on one single insignificant individual. I kinda figured I could camouflage under your radar..."

Ozpin snapped his fingers in futility. "You thought wrong, but don't worry because you are more important than you think."

Puzzled, Jaune pointed at himself to be certain - as if there was another person behind him that Ozpin was actually referring to. "I am?"

"He is?" Off guard, Glynda questioned Ozpin with the same volume of disbelief.

"Yes, you are. This is not a prank," Ozpin paused until both of them regained their composure, "and even if you're currently equivalent to a professional hunter buried six feet under," Jaune flinched at the accurate comparison, "you have plenty of potential. For instance, when you've unlocked your Aura – a real abundant one at that - and when you coordinated your team to take down the Death Stalker. In a short span of time, you've outperform my expectations." He even knew about his Aura bit with Pyrrha. _Well, that's pretty embarrassing._ "And you're still growing, both physically and mentally. Surely you've met someone who think the same as us." The silver haired professor noticed the forced cough from the neighboring teacher. "Excuse me, who think the same as me."

"Well, there's Pyrrha. She never doubted me." Unfortunately, praises resulted bruises in his case.

"Pyrrha Nikos," Ozpin perked up from the mention of the redhead. "To be acknowledged by the 4 time Mistral tournament champion proves how right I am. I implore you, Jaune, please be a student under our academy's care and be the man you've always wanted to be: an official hunter. Of course, under one condition." Great, no one ever mentioned him getting away scot-free. "Before the Vytal Festival, you will study and train a lot more than every student ever will this semester. It will be exhausting and in some ways painful, but that's not all."

"So It's not one condition? I haven't decided, and already I'm getting more than I bargained for."

"To accelerate your progress, you'll be assigned with certain people who will share their knowledge with you. This way, you can find what you're best suited for – may it be fighting, strategy, info gathering, support, and so on and so forth."

Assigned with certain people? Could it just be the normal teachers in Beacon? Is it going to be Peter? _Oh, I may as well choke myself with my tie._ Then again, this will only last until the Vytal Festival, whatever that is. So far the deal didn't sound too bad or misleading. He gets to stay and improve himself with a lot of hard work and still hang out with his friends. This can definitely pay off for him, but the small smirk from the Headmaster signaled danger. Or was it just the piercing gaze from the iron willed blonde?

"I want to stay and graduate from Beacon," Jaune swallowed his hesitation, "and it'd be pretty interesting for what you got in store for me... I accept your conditions." With some vigor, he proudly shouted out his happiness. "From here on out, I won't let you down, Prof!"

"Excellent," Ozpin stood and extended his arm, "this will be your first step in gaining the experience and knowledge you'll need to succeed the person you are now." Just like that, Jaune grasped and firmly shook his hand. Very brief and unnoticed, Jaune's Aura seeped into Ozpin's hand. Feeling uncomfortable and a tad shaky with his heart pounding away at his chest cavity, Ozpin held his breath and bit his tongue, but not revealing any signs of his distress, he waited until Jaune let go and skipped towards the elevator.

After Jaune said his goodbyes and gratitude, he descended back down to class, ignorant of what the man plans were. Although, he and Ozpin were content with the outcome, Glynda was having none of it. Turning to her right, she asked her insane superior. "What are you scheming?"

"Scheming?" Ozpin playfully gasped. "Such a harsh word. If you've listened to our conversation, you should be ahead of schedule," Ozpin sighed as he bit down his straw, sipping.

"Oh, I listened word for word," she hissed, "and I do not approve of this, and neither will my peers."

"Don't you mean your 'meat shields'?" Ozpin quote unquote with his fingers, but was unable to do more than strain his joints.

She scoffs at him, ignoring his counter. "This is your worst mistake yet. Wasting our resources and hours for one single student. I've warned you before, but I swear you can only learn from getting your end screwed over."

"I think you pronounced 'best' wrong, and you're being too personal, Glynda. You can't judge a book by its cover, no matter how silly it may appear. Besides," he mused, feeling his pumping heart slow down, "this is just starting to become interesting." _Very interesting._ "Mind accompanying me to the cafeteria for some breakfast? The increased paperwork is starting to become such a bother."

Glynda rolled her eyes. "Subtle."


	3. Chapter 3

Back in Ozpin's office - quiet and calm if one excused the soft clanks of grinding metal surrounding the floor and ceiling and the rattling sounds from a certain man behind his desk. The very owner of the room mumbles to himself as he madly types away on his stationed scroll, his overly due work of at least two days' worth of filed documents continues to pile up. All patched up and ready for an extra round of punishment, his fingers simultaneously followed each passing press of keys, making afterimages that looks as if the he grew another set of hands. If it weren't for his unnatural talent of keen observation and patience, he would've likely lost track of what needs to be put from front to back – the coffee was a definite plus to his efforts in finishing up his schedule.

His hands of incredible speed went up a gear in silent desperation to get back what's really important, such as his well-deserved rest, or in his case a dirt nap, but he recalled a lost conversation he had with a certain blonde. Now who was it, Ozpin mentally scratches his head. _Blonde, blonde, blonde… Glynda?_ He clicks his tongue. With no luck, he didn't have the chance to talk with her for nearly 6 days, give or take. She was obviously adamant against his ideas – honestly not the first time this happened in their time with one another - but this was a bit much even for him. If he lost her support, he'd surely lose his position and reputation as headmaster. He inwardly cursed his excessively growing workload.

 _Blonde… male…_

"Ah yes, him," he chuckled to himself. _How could I forget?_ Jaune Arc, the one who will be either be a benefit or a hell storm for Beacon. A promising young student who can transform into a prodigy or at least perform enough to withstand the arduous journey that is being a hunter.

A week passed ever since the new compromise was made between Ozpin and Jaune, and it was time to assign him his very first teacher, whoever that person maybe. And so came the challenging part of his day - who will be his first?

All of the regular professors are busy to the brim – probably buried in paperwork much like himself - and since he was partially responsible in injuring some of them, even if he wasn't even conscious during the carnage, this is only just the beginning of an already strenuous semester. It'll be borderline impossible for the regulars in the academy, but that doesn't stop him from using alternative people… His students are the most viable option. Yes, a thought settled inside him. Maybe someone in RWBY? Perhaps the CRDL? How about the CFVY? Anyone at all? What does Jaune have to learn first is the better question.

Well, second to his extreme inability to fight against even the weaker level Grimm, Jaune doesn't have much knowledge of anything either, but he's no cannon fodder. He can adjust to those conditions, so cramming the wondrously painful amount of topics that start from the basics to intermediate conditions should be a cake walk for him, so long as he is not rebellious with the courses. One thing's for sure, he at least has to know about Dust. A bulb lit in his head – it was so obvious. _Oh, oh right. There's her…_

There's definitely one person for the job.

* * *

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're asking the impossible Professor Ozpin."

"And that would be?"

"Educating a complete mook," a white haired princess harrumphed. "Helping someone like Jaune of all people in the kingdom is the very last thing on my list to-do list."

Before this difficult situation reared its ugly mug, Weiss never expected to be called into Ozpin's office for something as menial and trivial as this. Offered a seat, some tea, and all the pampering a guest should have, this revelation was quite the downer for her curiosity. She hoped for something like an award, or that he finally realized that she deserves to be the leader of RWBY – not some childish airhead who she swore has ADD. She at least expected some deal, a trade even, or a bargain. It wasn't even a request. He simply said "I need you to guide Jaune Arc – yes, _that_ Jaune Arc - on the history of Dust." Even if she were given a week, Weiss couldn't list the reasons why this won't bode well. And of course, in her mind, she replied with _"hell no! I'd rather play Remnant: The Game against Yang for the rest of my life than be any longer than an hour with him!"_ But no would have to suffice.

"But it's on the list, is it not?" his lips curled upward when the rapier wielding girl stared him down, or wanted to since she's planted her rear firmly on her chair. Damn his height, and damn him for interrupting her infernal annoyance against everyone.

"Harr harr, Professor Ozpin, but humor doesn't imply having a silver tongue," she lightly barked back, so close did she stuck out her tongue and not any playful way. "I won't do it."

"Does having silver hair count?"

She sighed, rubbing her temples in soothing circles. _I don't have time for this._ "I respect you sir - I really do - but I think we both know what my decision is. Will you respect my choice?"

Of course, he wasn't one to give in to anyone, especially if it's his students. "I would - I really would – but I think we both know we can benefit from this." He gazed past her in contemplation. "At least I will benefit from this." His confidence radiated from his straight face.

 _…_ _Dick._

"And what would that be?" she drawled, shaking her head. _Ha! Such an absurd excuse to prolong the inevitable._

"This," he flipped a card, his fingertips clasped its corners, revealing what appeared a card of some sort, and it looks almost like her credit card…

 _My credit card!_

Instinctively, she shuffled through her pockets, only to find that her card was still resting in her dress. Her shoulders slacked, but it didn't answer why he had such an important item, _the conniving bastard._

"You thought I stole yours, didn't you," he chuckled as he flipped around the card between his digits, "but this is more than meets the eye." He leaned back against his seat, ignoring Weiss' pouty face. "This one is linked to your family's bank account, but there's no restrictions whatsoever. How does that sound?" He stared deeply into her eyes, as if waiting for a predictable retort.

"Neither is mine."

"And that's where you're wrong," he immediately countered as he felt like he had to take away the bold girl from being so arrogant. "Your father controls the cash flow in yours. And at any time of the day, he can - no - he will cancel your access to your account. Imagine, a Schnee without their money is like a beast without its fangs and claws." He shifted his tone. "You've become too reliant on it."

She couldn't help but bit her lower lip. "You don't know my father."

"Are you pulling my cane?" he almost giggled at his words as he noticed the refreshed anger of her eyes. He had to calm her down somehow. "Where do you think I get the Dust for running the academy's electricity - from my backyard?"

Her pupils went in circles at the comment, but being rude would obviously not sway him. "You only know him from a business point of view. I knew him ever since I came into this world," her curiosity got the best of her as she inspected the card, "so I know you either compromised with him in exchange of this item, or this could be forgery." She wished it was, but there's no denying that this card's design is authentic – the Schnee icon and silver seal of the company approval flashed from the luminescent room. A genuine piece that showed that this is only available within family members. _How did he get this?_

"If you're wondering, I'll give you a hint: it's not your father."

 _No doi,_ Weiss said in her head. "It's from someone who's cold to the touch, or so to speak." Much to her relief, she exhaled all of the air in her lungs. The last thing she needed is more "assistance" from him.

"So it's my sister's doing?" she whispered in anticipation.

"Who else?" he looked amused when Weiss' couldn't stopped shaking in joy, only to stop and clear her throat, a tad red in the face.

"I'm almost thrilled from hearing that." That made him raised a brow of the sudden loss of tension from her face – a sparkle in her pupils. He wondered if he should tell Winter about their relationship with each other, either than recognizing this as a one-sided connection.

"This one," he pointed the card, "is free from his surveillance, free from his power, and if you agree to teach a certain 'mook', it's all yours."

She remained idle, her eyes stuck on the credit card. "What makes him so important that you're willing to go this far?" Should she be worried about this?

His eyes met hers. His showed a vulnerability, a chink in the armor. Quite likely Ozpin was reminiscing something in his past, but his playful smile distracted her too well to catch anything else. "Everyone has a role on the chessboard, even you, Weiss."

So she was a chess piece to him, a pawn maybe. "A-are on it, Headmaster?"

"Of course not," he shook his head at the inquiry, "I'm the player." _Of course he is_. Her mind was still filled with questions that he might deny. She may as well ask.

"And your opponent?"

His lips stretched until he bared a bit of bright white teeth. "Cortana." Her brow twitched, a sign of confusion, yet she didn't detect a tone or expression of lies from him.

"Who?" her hand raised in a way to say she doesn't really know who that person is. Still, somehow, it sounded familiar to her.

As if he became a mime, he pretended to zip his mouth, flicking his invisible slider, smiling as if he's the only one who knew. "…I can't tell if you're messing with me, or you're just… daft, but fine," she frowned as she gripped her prize to a breaking point, "I-I'll enlighten Jaune about Dust."

 _Bleh!_ Her inner persona gagged at the image. Meeting at a close proximity with no one on her team to compensate the idiot was considerably intolerable to her. _I can't believe I said that! I need some mouthwash!_

"That doesn't explain why he couldn't just, you know, do it himself. He can read, can't he? Or do I have to teach him the alphabets too," she couldn't help but tease about the incompetent boy, her inner self still gagging from her previous sentence.

"There's books and then there's experience," he sighed, weighing the two concepts with his flat hands as a scale, "and you did not just read through everything related to that topic; you lived with it. And now I want you to share it, expand it, and present it, etcetera." Ozpin pushed a piece of paper towards her. It appeared to be a contract. He bent his fingers, releasing a resounding crack in the air, and typed away on his keyboard.

"Just sign your signature on the bottom line, and this agreement will be concrete. You'll be seeing him tomorrow in the first room in the lecture hall after your classes. I also gave a contract to Jaune a week before today; this won't be a one-sided deal."

Already ahead of time, she skimmed through each paragraph. Teach Jaune about Dust, help him control it, then receive her reward. The rest were simply additives that is to improve their relations with each other, but they seem to be the more challenging part than the main purpose of the contract. Of course, everything checked out as planned – nothing that would screw her over - so she pressed onto the sheet with her pen. What's done is done, and she didn't see a single loophole that would work against her at the moment. "There, the arrangement is sealed."

"Excellent, your lesson should last you the rest of the day."

"Only for a day?" She raised one finger to confirm his words.

"Only for a day," he emphasized by waving a finger back at her.

She couldn't help but feel complimented and insulted at the same time. On one hand, he thinks she's capable enough to cram all of her years of knowledge into the walnut sized brain of a monkey. In the other hand, it's as if her entire studies in Dust is reduced to a measly half a day. Nonetheless, she stood up, and bowed. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"It's no problem at all," he said with a nod, his mind holding him back from responding with a curtsy. "Don't have too much fun with this opportunity."

"I doubt that," she remarked. As she scaled down to the last floor of the building, Ozpin pulled out his scroll, prepared to text to the soon to be excited knight about his soon-to-be ordeal.

* * *

Man, oh man, did she doubt it. She was outside of her assigned classroom right after her schedule's been taken care of. She had everything setup for this occasion, hiding this "mission" of hers from the disgustingly interrogating eyes from her teammates – all of them knew she had a stubborn mouth, but they insist on the inquiries. Barraged by Ruby and Yang with questions that kept repeating even near their bed time. "Why were you called in Ozpin's office," the two sisters hammered the same interrogation over and over again. She would have to thank Blake for her neutral silence. Hell, she even has her case full of her own set of Dust.

Today was tomorrow, and, lo and behold, behind the double doors was Jaune who sat on the front row, bashing buttons, followed by a lengthy dialogue of profanity on his scroll with what appeared to be a fighting game on the screen. Most likely frustrated from getting his ass handed to him, her supposed student wasn't even aware of her, even if she was only a few steps away from the raging player. Not even her incessant tapping against the hard wooden floor with her heels grabbed his ears.

"Oh, you are so going down! Taste my unbreakable combo you cheating mother-"

"Ahem!" her voice echoed through the walls; sharp was it so that her tone reached right into his ears, managing to snap his attention back to reality.

And as he made eye contact, her stomach dropped; that face said many things, but they all made her feel one thing: annoyed. No, contempt – definitely along those lines that made her wish he could just quit smiling at her like a fly drawn by an ultraviolet lure.

"Why hello there, _Snow Angel_ ," Jaune played it cool as he placed his feet on top the table, if it wasn't for the scroll that shouted "You loser!" at him in max volume, followed by a nasal laughter from the victorious player. He was as charming as usual – not a spec of originality from him came to mind. The irritated angel walked past him, dragging what appeared to be a rolling case, but his eyes never moved away from her. "I don't have time to listen to your failed attempts of _flirtation_ , so save that angel backwash when this is over. Or better yet, don't address me that way ever again. You'd be aiding me quite a lot."

His excitement never left him, even if she stared him down harshly. "I can't promise that last part, but Weiss is almost as good," he winked with a thumbs up.

Oh my Ohm, he freaking winked; all he's missing is a twinkle on the corner of his eye. If she had to bite her tongue any harder, she believed it would shoot out through her teeth like a runaway bullhead and splattered the rows behind him with bits of his brain and her mangled appendage.

"Are you saying the name my father and mother gave me is lesser than your incessant nicknames?"

"Of course not, Weiss," he proclaimed. "I just think you're something more than a name. You deserve a title! Or at least an honorific. Maybe 'Queen', or something like 'Goddess'. Oh, oh, or maybe 'my-"

"Jaune?" she called out his name, getting his attention again - her blood sugar levels raised to a clotting pressure.

"Yes my-?"

"Shut. Your. Mouth." She grinded her teeth, trying to intimidate him. She had no desire to know what comes after "my", and she's certainly not giving him the hope for it. However, this backfired as he only saw her in a delicate light, if he excused the time her butt nearly shattered his spine. Ah, he'll never let that out of his thick skull.

In a lazed response, he slid his index and thumb across his mouth, zipping it, which irked her enough to clicked her tongue in disapproval. She swore he's a distant relative to Ozpin somehow.

"Okay then," she began as she stood behind the board, her temper dropping to acceptable levels, writing her question in the black surface. "Let us start with the basics," she finished jotting with her chalk, "what is Dust?" She waited for him to answer, but it never came out of him for half a minute.

"…"

"Any day now would be great," she advised, watching his weird charade with his hands, his mouth still sealed. _Are you kidding me?_

"You may speak." _You freaking numbskull._

The quiet knight pretended to unzip his lips. "Is it energy?"

Thankfully, his answer was beyond her expectations. Not that he was just stupid, but even his weapon is primitive by today's standard, so it would also be expected if he only knew Dust as only an energy source. "You are correct – a bit elementary, but it's the main idea. Now that you understand this much, and that we have several hours or so, you will learn its importance and harness its powers. Hopefully, you know how to control your Aura. It's absolutely, positively, extremely vital that you know the latter." Noticing the sweat running down his forehead, she couldn't help but gasped and scolded at the same time, which wasn't very difficult to her. "For the love of Ohm, please tell me you know how to control your Aura."

"Haha, Okay," Jaune scratched the back of head, not really accomplishing a very impressive promise. She glared into his very psyche, causing his back to hunch over. "I deserve whatever you dish out at me."

"You didn't even try to make it reassuring," Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. It's been only 5 minutes, so why does it feel like an eternity? She put the effort into bringing some of her supplies of Dust, read up about teaching of all things, avoided herself from Ruby's childlike curiosity and Yang's incessant elbow jabs, and this is what she gets: a dunce without a dunce cap. "I actually expected more from you," she whispered solemnly. "Maybe I'm just not competent enough to teach you." If it were Winter, Jaune would be focused and listened to every instruction from her, no matter the cost. As her eyes became distant and blurry, something in Jaune lashed at him. It barraged him for making for her feel this way, and he has to accomplish what he signed up for. He'd be an even bigger idiot not to.

His nervous grin slowly rotated upside down - his eyes hardened. "I only got this Aura thing recently, but I will definitely do whatever I can to learn from you!" His voice rose, pushing away Weiss' doubt in herself.

"Please," he removed himself and walked towards her, "I want nothing more than be a better man for myself, and for you," He lowered himself, kneeling down on all fours in front of her. Ah, that sounded off to him, but he was too immersed in receiving her approval.

"W-w-what are you doing?!" she stuttered in surprise and in hidden amusement. She expected him to apologize, but not like this, nothing like this at all. Well, maybe a little bit like this, but with her laughing and him crying a waterfall as he self-loathes himself.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss. I know that I'm no good for anything, but please accept this idiot in your lesson. I promise to keep quiet," his head rested on the waxed floor, but the reflected eyes Weiss saw was determined.

If her cheeks weren't blushing now, then it was surely flaming from embarrassment. How lucky for her that his face was facing down, or who knows how much discomfort she'll feel. No one's ever kneeled before her on all fours; although a day never passed without her thinking about it. Not even her butler or maids from her home did something like that when they asked for forgiveness, and the first one to do that was the person she's not remotely social with, let alone cared about.

But it was, to her astonishment, not a bad feeling – it was almost empowering. Well, so long as there's no one around here peeking at the two from the door. And maybe it was the honesty in his tone, or the very submissive position he put himself in, but it showed faith and discipline. Something in the stream of consciousness told her that she should thank Glynda for this behavior…

"You idiot," she whispered sternly, but it was loud enough to make the kneeling knight flinch. She reached out to his chin and lifted his head to look at her. He didn't resist - he surely didn't mind gawking at her closely. There was hope that this could work out after all. "Get up, sit back on your seat, and be amazed at my _knowledge_ ," she said it with renewed confidence.

Jumping back on his feet, he saluted. "Yes ma'am!" She immediately cringed at him. Huh, that didn't sit well with her. Calling her "ma'am" made her feel way too… out of character. She almost preferred Snow Angel.

"Please, Jaune," she pushed him back to his seat, "just call me Weiss."

This had to be a dream because if this wasn't a dream, then she's sure that she's a figment in someone else's imagination. For a while now, her jaw unhinged at how well this was progressing, and much to her amazement, it's only been a few hours. As if Jaune was possessed by a bookworm with photographic memory, he was able to catch up with her oral lecture and review back in 100% accuracy, as if each chapter was etched into his heart. She had to condense all of her topics into subsections as he grasped the theories behind them quite well – almost too well that she wondered why has he been slacking off and wasting such potential. It was no wonder he was accepted into Beacon; push him hard enough, and he would turn into a devoted student. Everything she threw at him, Jaune will happily catch them with ease. From the history to even the elemental and physical properties, he should ace the exams related to this theme… and she was having fun. Sure, he's a milestone from her own brilliance, but Jaune pushed her to try harder than she ever will alone. Truly, she can accept him for now. And it has been so long since she's conversed with someone who could have equal if not greater interests in the advancement of Remnant's greatest resource for humankind alike.

"What?!" Jaune exclaimed. "They were used as drugs?!"

Weiss couldn't help but snicker at his surprised expression as they were near their scheduled break; they had to rest up for a few minutes until they can go again without draining their mental stamina. "Yes, but the funny thing was that it was discovered by accident. Remember how one can embed crystals inside themselves to attain the power of the said type of element?" Jaune nodded to confirm; it was a dangerous method to utilize it, and it could very well be like distributing dynamite throughout one's body. It was a spontaneous and foolish way to get power, for the risks weighed much more than the pros. One said source reported that it the weak willed will be slowly eaten away by the Dust, and one's Aura will be absorbed until they were turned into husks of their former selves, yet it never deterred anyone who seeks authority and strike fear to anyone who stands as an obstacle.

"Well, this type of practice was barbaric, primitive even," she shook her head with pity, "but if one were to finely grind the crystals more granular than sand, it was reported that once it was injected inside of you, you will attain this incredible burst of energy that exceeds the initial procedure, and the effects are temporary as well – around a few hours' average. This makes its usage extraordinarily effective in dire situations… but it's beyond more useless than you might think." Weiss sighed as she recalled reading about this occurrence in her private studies.

"Imagine it - all of that finely grinded Dust inside of you, draining, eating you alive," the princess inspected the paling blonde in great delight, "but you will never have that feeling ever." The once jittering teen looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Dust doesn't simply enhance one's abilities. It flows through and manipulates the brain to incite hallucinations, dreams, and of course it produces an extremely fast rate of dopamine, creating what is considered the most euphoric rush anyone could ever have in a lifetime. In some cases, it can create memory loss, and in very rare scenarios, it can completely alter their personality in a 180."

"D-does this still happen to this day?" Jaune couldn't believe that anyone would be willing to go through such an experience and go back to it. Then again, in some small villages, narcotics would be their only way of profit and living.

"Oh, most definitely," she smirked as she thought about the result. "There are still people who act like Neanderthals, so it's not uncommon to hear people who would sometimes attack on the streets of small towns in a delusional frenzy. Of course, there are those who can handle it better," the small but noticeable sadistic part of the pure white dressed charmer grinned darkly, "but it cannot be used often. Well, rather if it was used more than a few times a day on a daily basis or even injected with more than the needed dose…" the air in the room became dead still so that only the inquisitive knight can hear his alarmingly fast beating heart, waiting for his snow angel who was passively checking at her nails. _What was she going to say?_ He noticed that he stopped breathing, and when he opened his mouth to let air out-

 **"** **BLAM!"** she shouted deafeningly as she clapped her hands as hard she could at his face, shocking and stirring Jaune's already fragile heart.

"AAHH!" he screamed in return and fell onto the ground.

"Hehehaha!" with a cute and high pitched tone, Weiss chortled at the frightened state that was Jaune with a clutched stomach who was still holding onto his chest in search of a hole, in case his heart didn't jump too far off from his rib cage. "Oh my Ohm, that was the funniest thing expression I've ever seen on your face ever! Haha!" the way she giggled at him only soothed him as he knew that she at least had a sense of humor, even though it was a disheartening one.

"Haha," he laughed with her in return, "you got me there with that joke. For a second there, I thought what you've said actually happened!"

"Oh, oh Jaune," she composed herself from letting out anymore unnecessary exhales, "that was all true. You didn't think I would lie to you at this point, did you?" She searched for any doubts from Jaune.

"Oh," now a little bit more panicky, he had to ask her, "so that thing you did with your hands-"

"I meant that whoever abuses it will explode like a premature firework, yes," Weiss nodded and emphasized it by clapping again… He pondered how he should approach this "joke", but she got ahead of him when she looked up at the clock. "Ah, it looks like we're back to learning about what's really important." Weiss said to herself, but she showed a small smile to her student. "I hope you have enough stamina to keep up because now I'm going to get serious," she smirked at him with a sparkle in her eye.

 _Heart attack mode engage…_

The teaching proceeded like usual, the tension from the beginning vanished from the classroom and was replaced by Weiss' extreme elation about the technological advancement with Dust and Jaune growing infatuation on knowing more about her. There was no doubt in her on how he was accepted to such a prestigious school, yet he didn't stop looking as her with new founded life, as if he was driven only from her acknowledging him. What mostly disturbed her was that he seemed to be relishing every second of it – both the subject and her presence. The worst part was that she didn't mind it since she was only focused on finishing up the rest of the lesson, which reminded her.

"You're doing incredibly well for someone like yourself," Weiss admitted how he was far more capable than she'll ever be at this rate, "but we're not done until you do this last task." She read him well enough that she foresaw the knight hyperventilating and gasping because it's time.

"It's about time that you should learn how to use Dust!" She opened up her case and unloaded what appears to be a hand sized gray uncut crystal, so it's a Dust with an ice property. "This is probably the safest you can try, since this reacts solely on how much Aura you applied to it." He had to agree, considering that the other elements, even the earth was sensitive on how it wanted to be manipulated; they're too volatile for him to use and at least ice is a slow reactant with Aura. The only way he could even mess up is if he can concentrate a large and instant amount of Aura into the Dust. If he can even do something that advance, the very owner of it would be immobilized for long periods of time. After what was about 6 hours of speedy sessions, he can expect himself to graduate her class with flying colors, but even he felt overwhelmed by this supposedly simple initiation.

"But I don't know how to do that," Jaune trudged lightly, knowing that if there's a misstep, he'll be landing on a minefield, "it's all just automatic for me. I mean the best that I could currently do with it I injure myself and let it heal me. I don't even know the first step in even unleashing the energy. I don't-"

"Jaune!" she interrupted him. "I know exactly what you're going through. In fact, I had the same thought when I first used it for my Myrtenaster when I was 7 years old. It was expected from my parents and sister for me to even use my glyphs on the first try."

"And what happened?" his anticipation expanded. He wanted to hear her trial and error in hopes that he can relate to her more.

"Obviously I winged it and controlled my weapon and glyphs without a problem on my first attempt." Whatever expectations he had for himself dropped on a whole new level. She controlled her weapon and semblance on her first damn try.

Realizing that she sounded like a smug elitist, she tried to rephrase her statement without denting his emotion. "Look, what I'm trying to address is that if I can do something like that, without even using the Dust raw on my first try, then I'm a hundred percent certain that even someone like you can release the energy in this crystal on your very first time as well." Still deflated, Jaune could only nod and walked up to her, but nonetheless he motivated himself.

"Let's pray that I don't 'freeze' myself over on this one."

She was mad at him before, but to joke so terribly took the cake. She's only glad that this won't be a permanent arrangement. "…You know, you're almost as terrible as Yang," a low groan escaped from her lips.

"Haha, thanks!" he scratched the back of his head from her unintended compliment.

Grabbing his arms suddenly, she placed the stone between his two palms and enclosed it so that only a small exit between his thumbs can show the glass-like item from the top. Her hands, albeit beautiful in nature, carried a firm hold around his fingers. The warmth from it was inviting. "Now, I want you to calm your head and relax yourself. Making yourself tense will only frustrate you." This was a fast start, but he tried to inhale and exhale slowly, thinking about nothing, feeling nothing, and only stared at the round gem in both his and her teacher's grasp. "Good, now I want you to concentrate on looking at the crystal in your hands. Let the life inside of you focus into that one point you're peering at, and your Aura should travel into it."

"Alright," he began to stare intensely, doing nothing but just that with an empty conscious.

Several seconds passed by, but not even her hands felt the slightest bit chilly. It should be reacting to his life-force, and since he had his Aura unlocked, this should circulate through him naturally. _So why isn't the stupid thing reacting!?_ A small part of her was disappointed at herself, for this was her professional field. She's an expert, yet she somehow can't get his Aura to flow through the damn thing. She shook her head in denial. No, she has to get this to work!

"Jaune, keeping doing what you're doing," she let go, much to Jaune's dismay, and she instead decided to-!

"Whoa there!" he nearly squeaked at Weiss' frisky hands patting around his upper torso. She had to find the source of his life, or in this case, she tried to find the most concentrated area that his Aura would most often circulate through. This way, she could guide him to where he should direct the power. "I'm not ready for that yet!" his blood pumped to a higher rate.

Not really getting the message across, she continued where she left off. "Just ignore me for a while. I'm trying to feel you."

"Phrasing!" he squirmed as his skin shivered at her non-top pressing around his abdominals.

"Oh shut up. You're wearing armor for goodness sake. Simply look back at your hands. Oh, that reminds me," she muttered when she let her free hand roam back to Jaune's clasping hands. "I have to make sure I can feel the change in temperature. After this, it should confirm your prowess and end your lesson. You'll thank me later." But without acknowledging his uncomfortable expression, his arms grew stiff from her very daring actions. And much to Weiss' very own dismay, she couldn't sense where the power is coming from. Usually, something like an Aura would be developed inside an organ, or even multiple organs. Generally, it would either the heart, liver, or stomach, but she couldn't feel anything in them. If that's the case, she would have to reach higher.

"Weiss, not that I want to complain, but I don't think what you're doing is helping me. In fact, I'm starting to get tense from this," he swooned. Not even buying it or believing him, she just raised her arm high enough to touch Jaune's right cheek, which startled him, but he unconsciously rested his it on her palm.

 _Aha!_ She found where most of the energy is coming from, and unsurprisingly to her, it was between his ears - so dense was his life-force. Packing this much amount of Aura was unforgivable! This could explain some of his unrecognizable talents. Just as she was about to tell him what to do next, Jaune's nervousness was simply too much for him, and the next then that happened frightened him.

From her touch, his body reacted so violently that his Aura went full gear. First, it channeled throughout his skin, making both the crystal and his snow angel absorb what he unwilling let loose. He then felt like he's holding onto a lump of ice, which triggered Weiss' astonishment.

"Oh! I felt it!" she happily exclaimed as the Dust started to glow and emit a cold air. "Looks like you didn't need my assistance after all. I knew you could do it! See, it was easy!" It was something to celebrate, but it didn't stop there, unfortunately, for her sudden happiness turned into instant regret and heat. Like a maddening ray of light was centered on top of her, she felt hot to the core, and her chest hurt from the increasing pounding from her heart. Her hand touching him felt especially burning, but it was almost like it wanted to stay there, comfortable from it where it's resting… _Just what is this?_

 _"_ _Awesome! You're right, it wasn't so bad after all,"_ was what he wanted to proclaim, but his attention was elsewhere. "Hey Weiss, are you alright you don't look so good. Well, I mean you obviously look great, but your face seems like it's heating up," unbeknownst to her, she felt a hand resting on her forehead. Without effort, her eyes locked onto his concerned vision, and by that alone she melted inside. This peaceful and hot comfort hazed her mind.

"Jaune," she whispered to him, not letting go of her position, "I-I want." Her fractured sentence confused the worrying knight.

"What do you want, Snow Angel?" he begged for her answer, still feeling the temperature on her head. _Is she sick or ill?_ It couldn't be, since the symptoms are never this instant. It could be something worse. He might have to asked a nurse in Beacon, but he surveyed the room, only to realize that the place is dense with fog or mist from the Dust in his hand. _Well that's weird._ He didn't expect himself to be capable of making the crystal work to this extent. He felt his hand tighten from Weiss' own grip… this sensation was similar to when Pyrrha held onto him. _Not good..._

"Uh, maybe you should lie down. You know, calm down a little until I get the nurse to check up on you." Her unblinking yet dim eyes were stuck on him. She wanted to be even closer, to close the gap and let the hot skin heat up some more… but there was also this unrivaled rage inside of her that could equally match this infectious lust. This nagging enmity which relentlessly tells her to stop doing what she's doing right now, or else she will regret it forever.

It kept telling her to stop.

"I want…" her voice was dwindling, but a hasty hiss passed her teeth – the other emotion surfaced, "you to STOP CALLING ME SNOW ANGEL!" She snatched the Ice Dust from his hands and turned the testing item into a lethal glowing cannon of fury. _Oh shit!_

"Waitwaitwait!" he waved at her to stop from what she's about to do, but it was almost as if she couldn't hear anything from him. It was like she transformed into some feral beast, and her prey just so happened to submit to its whims.

"Go AWAY!" she snapped at him, her icy object shot at him like a repeating shotgun, all of which aim at his chest. Blast after blast, Jaune had flown off the and crashed on one of the seats while she kept wailing at him with short bursts of large chunks of frozen water.

The sound of the destruction echoed throughout every corridor of the building. The ground shook, which was amazingly difficult to achieve, but she kept going until her student has now become an unsweetened Arc-sicle. From his shoulders to his toes, he was frozen all over, except for his shivering head, which let out a small moan of pain and numbness.

"I can't feel anything," he said while his teeth chattered.

"Good," the assaulter yelled at him with tapped fury. Ignoring him entirely, she went packing up her case. As she loaded her stuff and walk right past him, she slightly rotating her neck and glaring at the freezing knight. "Stay away from me or you'll have your head mounted on my wall, you disgusting, useless, insignificant, perverted oaf!" Probably her last comment to him, she proceeded to stomp away and make her way through the door, catching anyone's attention who crosses with her.

"…W-w-what the h-hell?" He feared this maybe the end for him as the freezing pain took over his utter confusion; he teared up, but icicles cling onto his eyelids. _Ah, I think I can see the light…_

What felt like an agonizing eternity, Jaune heard the door creaked, and it was a convenient yet unexpected guest.

"R-R-Ren!" Jaune called out for his only male friend. "Buddy, you gotta get me out of here before I die of hypothermia! Or worse!"

Ren went wide-eyed at Jaune for brief second, taking in the atmosphere and observing his friend's pained expression as if the blonde was betrayed, and like a bro, he drew out his StormFlower and shot the pillar of ice that kept him a prisoner. After several shots of speeding lead, the hardened ice shattered, leaving Jaune to recover himself, but he was still cold to the touch.

"T-thank you! I owe you one! P-praise the school for letting student walk around with live ammunition rounds!"

"I would like to know what happened here," Ren began his questioning. "Everyone could hear the commotion, and I'm certain that this will not be the last time I'll ever see Weiss that livid." From what he recalled, Weiss was stomping in the hallway, grinding her teeth, seething to the point that even Ren who was approaching the scene felt his spine bent itself straight as he passed her.

"S-so you saw h-her," the knight sighed as he rubbed his body for warmth, "and did s-she say anything?"

"Other than calling a certain someone a tremendous pervert to herself," he noticed Jaune hanging his head, "I got nothing else." Carefully, he picked the freezing blonde up and began guiding him out of the frozen lecture room. From holding on, he gained back some body heat; he wanted to hug him for the help, but that would be too awkward as it was.

"It's going to be a weird story. Just so you know, I have absolutely no idea how this could have possibly happened. Apparently, I was both the perpetrator and the victim. And I know that this misfortune will be a long one." The red streaked hair companion had to only nod, for he too agreed that this will not be the end... And he expected himself to pick up the mess on the way.

Jaune, for most of his time on this planet, had bad luck with women, but even he didn't know that it would be a death sentence to him. Just what in Remnant did he do to deserve that though?! He didn't so much as move a single muscle, but he just deserved to be punished for some reason. At his point, he should have gynophobia, but at this rate, that may be a possibility. And jeez, if he stayed any longer in that position, he swore that Jaune "junior" would shrink to never cease to exist... _Damn you, Ozpin._ That silvered haired fox had to be involved in this somehow; he should've read the contract a little slower. It wasn't until he heard the door opened that his mental crisis went to a halt.

"Oh, glorious leader," Nora who showed up out of nowhere immediately poked at her cold captain, "you're so stiff!"

"Phrasing!"


	4. Chapter 4

Sharp sounds of ink tips scraping against paper was audible, even in a reasonable distance; so fast was the contact that one could inhale the scent of the burnt marks that was left after the impact. The scratches were constant, followed by the occasional tapping to print in punctuation. Someone was furious.

"I hope you're satisfied with yourself," the high-heeled woman sighed as she began filing and writing up sheet after sheet of paperwork, distracting her from thwacking the neighboring oaf and silencing his quiet snickering. "What am I saying? Your face says it all."

The smiling man leaned back against his chair, annoying the restraint assistant from just relaxing in front of her. It was night outside, and only the moon's dull light weakly pushed away the dark. Embracing the moon's color, the room glowed, illuminating his office, and as usual, Ozpin was in his laid-back position, while Glynda, who just so happened to have shown up at the right moment, decided to do the rest of his work pile. He could've kissed her then, tell her how much she meant to him if she was gone from his life, but not without her viciously ripping out his soul from his body and vice versa. It wouldn't simply end with a set of broken fingers like last time.

Over and over again, without missing a millisecond, the amused man sitting across from the workaholic woman replayed a video on his scroll, and on the projected screen was captured from a surveillance camera that recorded the poor Arc and Schnee. He expected things to turn out this way, but he never thought that it would escalate so dramatically, so quickly that even he was amazed at the result of not just Jaune's performance, but Weiss' enlightenment as well.

The growing development between the two, the anger, the joy… and the fear instilled a long lasting ease in him.

 _Again._

Right after that face of horror and regret on the young Arc's face, he pressed the replay button once more, returning to the Schnee's final test – the moment that lit Jaune's uneasiness. _Such a peculiar semblance,_ Ozpin wondered about it, but only to hold back his chuckling as he sees Jaune naturally guarding his most important weak point. To no avail, he was enveloped from top to bottom.

And it wasn't enough.

"It's not necessarily my fault on what happened in the class, it's their responsibility after all. I didn't even have any news from it until I heard it from you. By the way, you have my thanks for the notice."

"You can toss your thanks back to into the trash bin where it belongs," Glynda spat at his recyclable appreciation, leaving Ozpin to shrug off the venomous voice and watch the humor unfold between his hands.

 _Again._

This time he paused the screen at the moment Jaune's distraught was well expressed by his wide eyes, gaping mouth, and his paling surface - all of it in high resolution.

He found his background photo.

"You didn't give them much options," Glynda, growing a little weary, used her innate powers to speed up her work, "you were always one to like the carrot and stick path."

"I wouldn't say I like the method," he chuckled as he screen-shot the abhorred boy – the moment the ice shard flew onto him, "It's just how he works along with the young miss Schnee."

"And from this behavior, we will have to chisel away the room that may as well be a freezer." By the time she was about to lecture the Headmaster, she already finished up his paperwork, content with just Ozpin idly nodding with her retort. His incompetence was no surprise to her by now.

"It wasn't so bad. If anything, it should be melting away as of now."

"It wouldn't be in such a state if you had your attention on them," she warned him, "he may as well leave Beacon's premises and retake the basics, like any other idiot should."

"Everyone's a critic," he sighed with a wave of his arms, grabbing his steaming cup, "you know that he's essential to us (she grunted); it may not show now, but surely even you will have to acknowledge the student sooner or later. After all, if you saw the video, he has done well enough to even handle Weiss' expertise." He pressed his lips against the mug's rim, swallowing his life essence, his precious.

"… you're drinking my tea." She whispered as she clenched the bridge of her nose in irritation. Immediately, Ozpin spat out the tainted water, spluttering and gagging out the remaining fluids from his throat – his face filled with the color green from sickness. He stuck out his tongue like a child who ate his most hated dish.

"Bleh," he whined, "how on Remnant could you stand this accursed concoction."

Exaggerating or not, Glynda smirked at his suffering – one of the few events that appeased her in Beacon. Eyes closed, she swapped the drink back and proceeded to wipe the germs on her cup with a hidden handkerchief. "I don't want to hear that from a junkie like yourself."

"Coffee..." he reached out his black mug and chugged the liquid down his pipe. "Don't you dare leave my side."

"I'm right here, Ozpin."

"I was obviously not talking to you, Glynda," he groaned as rubbed the side of his hot glass with his cheek. "Read the atmosphere for once."

Annoyed by his little outburst, she cut in between his lost obsession. "Jaune Arc is a nuisance, and I don't support your cause."

Cocking his head, he pondered about that statement. "I'm sensing a little bit of déjà vu here. Am I missing something?"

"Your brain?"

"Right, that's one of them," he nodded jokingly, "but whether he's a nuisance or not, he's growing in rapid speeds, unbelievably so. Potentially, in only a few months, he can stand equal to our top ranked students, both physically and mentally."

"Yet he barely puts the effort into the classes he's assigned with."

"Well, you have to admit that there are not that many incentives for the boy. After all, wouldn't you be lost in imagination land too if your teacher started with," Ozpin coughed and massaged his throat – his chest puffed…

 _No, he wouldn't._ She dreaded the outcome.

"Monsters! …Demons… Prowlers of the night-!" He bellowed, imitating the proud story teller.

"I'd suggest you stop that act if you know what's good for you," she let out a snarl and whipped the air with her instrument, damn close to shoving her crop down his throat. How many years did she suffered from hearing that introduction over and over again from her peer, Peter Portman? Almost every single time for countless semesters, the conversation with the man always led to his practiced tales, and in less than a few minutes, she was rapt by thoughts of genocide, murder, comradery, and so on and so forth. Recognizing the sly smirk from Headmaster Ozpin, she turned red and went back to looking at anything but him.

"And that's just the one misfortune to be concerned about," he began his count with one raised finger, "then there's Oobleck, the hyperactive mass of confusion to deal with; there's you, the sadistically twisted disciplinarian she-dev-"

"Watch it," she snapped, "I'd advised not finishing that sentence."

He definitely knew better than to do that. "And then there's me, of course - the Headmaster trying to keep everything together. Obviously, there's the other professors with a broken psyche, but you should get the gist of it."

"Yes," she sighed, "the Headmaster who fixes the mess he made; truly, you are a miracle worker amongst us mortals."

 _Hypocritical ass,_ she held back from making her break composure any further.

"Ah, your sarcasm, it holds so much truth to it," Ozpin applauded as she rolled her eyes. He leveled his wrist at head's height, presumably checking his nonexistent watch. "And now that you've met your quota, I bid you a good night's rest. I don't want you don't want you to oversleep and miss out on your daily whipping spree."

Luckily for him, with the combined stress of Ozpin himself and the overloaded delinquents she had to put down, she was indeed exhausted from today's activities, and the last thing she would want to do is stay by his side and suffer from his discouraging personality. Had she decided otherwise, she swore her eyelids wouldn't last much longer, and to leave her vulnerable in his presence would make her an easy target to his unorthodox behavior.

"We don't have much longer until you finally break your 'boy toy' anyways," she said as she stood from her table and began to stroll towards the elevator with her cup and ceramic coaster floating steadily in the air. "And just so you know, if there are any more outrageousness from Jaune Arc or whoever guides him, you'll empty your pockets faster than you can spit out my refreshment."

Ozpin raised one brow, his lips stretched into a straight line. "Did you really have to call him a 'boy toy'?"

"I call them as I see them," she sassed back, standing in the elevator. As the sliding walls almost closed, she ended the conversation. "And I have too many to name for you." The doors snapped shut against each other, and the sound of wires pushing down the box was muffled by Ozpin's long sip of his hopefully "real" coffee.

He strolled back into the center of his desk, opening up his scroll once more and contemplate the next person to make "chemistry" with the blonde knight.

"Hmmm, he's certainly not my boy toy, but for others," he mused, the brightness of the screen reflected from his glasses, "that's another experiment to test."

* * *

In the dorm room of team RWBY, the commotion within was luckily out of reach from even their neighboring classmates; thank Oum for insulated walls and floors. And in between the four walls, interrogation ensues, and the torture was much like a double sided sword… It went on for an hour.

"Come on," a cheery and determined fist fighter begged as she shook the princess wrapped with a thick blanket, her smirk still evident, "what's with you giving us the 'cold shoulder'." Resounding groans came out of her three friends, their distaste of her puns never died during their time together as huntresses in training. Apparently, rumors spread blindingly quick, so quick in fact that before Weiss, the ever fuming ball of fire, could comprehend what she had done to Jaune, her teammates got hold of certain information that she was responsible for bringing the dropping temperature from the deepest layers of hell. And Yang, being the curious sort, wanted the word directly from the source.

"Please Yang," the feline Faunus lying on her bed grunted as she placed her explicit book on her face, "the last thing any of us needs are your deadpanned jokes."

"Yeah," the leader of the team tiredly agreed with Blake as she shook the sulking princess in sync with her sister, "I get it that she nearly froze Jaune to death, but even you have to take a break."

"Pshh," she dismissed their comments, "I'm just trying to 'break the ice'-!"

"Ugh!" an irritated voice finally passed through the fabric from Weiss, "make her stop. Any more of this and I might start tolerating her juvenile sense of humor."

"Ha!" Ruby cut in with a tear in her eye and clutching her stomach, "That'd be the day! If you can ever enjoy whatever Yang dishes out, then I'd be the next in line for your family inheritance."

"… That's a low blow, lil sis," Yang menacingly smiled. Seeking revenge, Yang did what a responsible older sister would for her naughty siblings. "And with that, you get your honorary hug from yours truly!" she got Ruby in a tight bind as she faced her sister's wrath before she could even make a grimace.

"Nononoono! Mpphmpphh!" An embrace is done face-to-face, but to her dread, Ruby was buried in Yang's all natural pairs of fan service– the suffocation was all too real and intense as she sinks deeper in Yang's chest. On Weiss' mattress, the little red began smacking her hand on the sheets, showing her energetic submission.

Blake gently lowered her opened book, taking in the image of the mismatched siblings. How she got dragged into this kind of activity every single day left her speechless; however, it's nice to know that she could mainly seat herself as an audience than to be part of the show.

 _… Idiots,_ Blake said in her head, deciding it's best to resume reading and out of harm's way.

"Quick Weiss-cream! If you don't tell me what's up with you and Vomit Boy, your partner will be cuddled to death!" Hearing that, Ruby pushed away from Yang as hard as possible by forcing her feet against Yang's iron abdominals, but to no avail, her body remained where it was – dangling in the air.

"Go ahead," Weiss responded by rolling against the wall, "make my night."

Reluctantly, the gauntlet wielding teammate loosened her grip, knowing well that Weiss would get a kick out of that more than she could predict. Yang stuck her tongue out at her, letting go of Ruby who gasped for air soon after. "Whatever, I'll just go ask Vomit Boy when he's not so out of it," her challenging comment made the princess visibly twitched. "He'll definitely spill the sweet tidbits between you and him."

"Oh yeah? What makes you so confident he'll tell you anything? At best, he'll stutter enough to get you bored out of your mind," facing Yang, she in turn stuck her tongue out, even if it was a little immature for her taste, but screw her anyways.

"Well duh," her tone was condescending, cocking her head as if everyone should know why, "Jaune's a guy! He's at least a guy on the outside… Well, I'm assuming. Who wouldn't want to brag about tangoing with his _Snow Angel,_ " this earned her getting a pillow flying from the raging white haired teen, but with her insane reflexes, she bent her back away, avoiding it by a thread, and guffawed at her minor tantrum. "Ya got to do better than that to shut me up. Put up your dukes!"

"It's getting late Yang," Ruby recovered from her punishment, "so I think we better get some shut eye." They had plenty of energy that could last a whole day, but from Ruby's perspective, she can notice the insecurity her partner is feeling, and if she doesn't want to say anything, then it's her responsibility as leader to give everyone some space. Of course, she was still wondering why someone like Weis was angry. Well, she was always a walking time bomb, but even more so than whenever she does something to annoy her. "And like you said, we can ask Jaune tomorrow morning."

Yang shrugged – she could read the mood enough to know when she's overdoing it, even though she was still packing with jokes in her arsenal. "Kay, but don't think you'll get away with it Weiss."

"Leave me alone you tainted ape."

Already crawling beneath her blanket, Yang was way ahead of her demand, but not without swinging her own cushion at Weiss's face dead-on. "Go choke on feathers."

Before she could reconsider pinning the party-hard to a wall with her Myrtenaster, Ruby gently patted her on the head, making her consider shish kabobing her inadequate leader instead. "What in all of Vale are you doing?!"

"I'm trying to calm you down," Ruby earnestly tried to make her comfortable. "This works on my dog. That's a good girl."

If only she could grow fangs and claws, she'd show her what a real dog would do. "I'm not your mutt, you twit! For the love of Oum, stop petting and go to sleep before I bite your hand off." She playfully nodded and leapt back on her top bed, but her head was upside down under her spot, staring at her stubborn friend with great observation.

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby whispered, "I don't want to make a demand, but can you go meet up with Jaune and… this may seem like a bad move on my part, but can you apologize to him?"

"And why should I?"

Ruby closed her eyes and planned the right choice of words to make her argument sound. "I don't think that, you know, what he did should get him… well, hurt. You also look guilty about it too, like it's your fault," Ruby got the bullseye when she saw Weiss' flustered face, but she still couldn't understand why she would act like that. "Not that I think you're the one to blame, but I think you're overreacting. I mean, Jaune's cool, and you're cool, so cool people should settle this like cool people should. Ya know?" Right… cool. She should work more on her speech skills, but that has to have gotten across somehow.

The sulking princess sighed because she knew that she was definitely the one to blame, and denying it in to Ruby would add in the guilt. But if she had to add in one reason that she shouldn't, it'd be because of her pride as someone who is superior – superior to Jaune. She's a damn Schnee, and she should be the one to be apologized to; it's to never be the other way around! Jaune was just a stupid genius in his own right, yet with just a little, uh, touching, she got all hot and bothered with a sickening passion for no freaking reason! It hit her like a brick out of nowhere, and she as a whole crumbled, collapsed, and weakened before someone like him. The humiliating sensation infuriated her, agitated her, made her feral and seek out the taste for blood – his blood… but it was undeniably comforting. It felt right, but it appalled her, as if the idea on embracing the love-struck idiot was forced into her very psyche, to meet his wants and needs. And like the opponents and enemies that fell before her, Weiss forfeited her pride and goal in life to Jaune. Did she really wanted to lose herself in his presence, his lackluster charm and hick-like perspective? Just _what the hell did he do to me?_ She'll figure it out by every means necessary, especially if it results in him suffering for it. Yes, the sadistic persona in her came to mind, enforcing the notion.

Weiss clicked her tongue, but she agreed nonetheless. "I will… Good night."

"Good night! Blakey, mind turning off the lights? I know you're going to stay up and read you bibliophile."

Blake visibly smirked as if she expected this. That's her captain for you. "You're being quite acquainted with me," she jested as she threw one of her pillows at the light switch next to the door, making the room completely engulfed in darkness. "Good night, Ruby."

"Good night, everybody!" Ruby unintentionally shouted before lightly snoring, counting sheep in her dreams. Yang followed her example.

Yes, Blake will be up for a while, for it was natural for an ex White Fang member to preserve the minimum requirement for naps. It's a hard habit to kill. And the human eye cannot sense or see in the lightless environment, leaving Blake to resume her usual routine… if it wasn't for the faint curses, giving her an earful of what Weiss was going through. Like chanting a spell, it was powerful, and ominous. Even if her eyes were locked onto the pages, the nocturnal bookworm hesitated with each passing paragraph when those two insidious filled words pitched into her eardrums.

"Die, Jaune, die, Jaune, die, Jaune, die, Jaune, die…"

 _… Maybe I should sleep after all._

* * *

"ACHOOO!" Jaune sneezed harder than he ever could; his snot blew out like a flying net and latched onto nothing but air, dangling. It was as if a whiplash of his brain nearly made contact with his skull. "Damn it, that one hurt!"

"Maybe someone was talking about you," Pyrrha chuckled as she laid down on her bed in a relaxed form, finally able to communicate with the whole group without troubling her thoughts, so long as she doesn't let herself too close to the blue eyed leader, everything should be stable.

"Please, none of those superstitions," Jaune sighed as he regained his wracked brain, "but seriously, I thought that would've kill me."

"Like how you would've died today?" Nora childishly teased him as she wrestled with her mattress and winning by body slams and elbow drops.

"… Yeah, like that time."

"You haven't fared well with Lady Luck it seems," Ren drank his tea, his typical procedure before his scheduled snooze. "With that cold, it should last for around a week. You're simply lucky enough to not die from it."

 _Yes, I was lucky, but just what the hell did I do wrong?!_ Still clueless and lost, Jaune contemplated about it on multiple occasions, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. If she's calling him a pervert, the very least she could do was explain why. If anything, she as the one frisking him! No, he couldn't blame her, but there was obviously something that Ozpin must have known about this.

"I'm gonna regret this, but there's no way this could possibly get any worse than this."

The three halted their activity, looked at each other and asked in unison, "What could make this any-"

"ACHOOO!" this time, the frontal lobe smacked against his cranium, knocking the sick knight out as he laid face down on the floor, nearly shocking his friends. Either than Nora, they feared this maybe a disastrous week.

And oh, so close did the Ice Queen's incantation came into fruition - so close.


End file.
